Objective noninvasive evaluation of benign prostatic hypertrophy

An objective noninvasive procedure has been developed to evaluate the urodynamics of benign prostatic hypertrophy. The test uses pneumatic occlusive cuffs similar to those used for blood pressure measurements and the electrical engineering concepts of open-circuit, short-circuit, and transient response measurements. The cuff is first inflated to measure pressure, then rapidly released, yielding the transient response and subsequent unimpeded flow. From the pressure and flowrate recordings as functions of time, objective evaluations of bladder strength and urethral obstruction are extracted.